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Promising Practices

The Promising Practices database informs professionals and community members about documented approaches to improving community health and quality of life.

The ultimate goal is to support the systematic adoption, implementation, and evaluation of successful programs, practices, and policy changes. The database provides carefully reviewed, documented, and ranked practices that range from good ideas to evidence-based practices.
Learn more about the ranking methodology.

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Humanim (Howard County, MD)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Disabilities, Children, Teens, Adults, Older Adults, Urban

Goal: Humanim's mission is to identify those in greatest need and provide uncompromising human services.

Improved Solutions for Urban Systems' High Schools (Dayton, OH)

Filed under Effective Practice, Education / Student Performance K-12, Children, Urban

Goal: The goal of ISUS is to address an escalating dropout problem and to better prepare these youth for work in high-demand industries.

Interlocal Association's Youth with Disabilities Project (Indianapolis region, IN)

Filed under Good Idea, Education / Educational Attainment, Children

Goal: The purpose of the Interlocal Association's (IA) Youth with Disabilities Project was to support demonstration projects to help Workforce Investment Act (WIA)-assisted youth programs develop the capacity to serve youth with disabilities. Although youth with disabilities had been served under previous employment and training programs during the latter years of the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA), with the implementation of WIA, services such as work experience, summer employment, and others decreased substantially. IA looked to expand and enhance the quality of services to youth with disabilities.

Jewish Vocational Service Programs for Youth with Disabilities (San Francisco)

Filed under Effective Practice, Economy / Employment, Children

Goal: The Jewish Vocational Service's (JVS) mission is to bring people and work together. The organization accomplishes this by linking employers and individuals together to achieve the employment goals of the Jewish community by providing the skills necessary for success in today's workplace. JVS links employers and individuals to work together to achieve their employment goals through high quality customer service, innovative program strategies, and the use of new technologies.

Job Link (Cleveland, OH)

Filed under Effective Practice, Economy / Employment, Children, Teens

Goal: LEAP's mission is to "empower people with disabilities in making significant life choices and changes to enhance their employment and independent living opportunities." The Job Link program aims to assist students in making a successful transition from school to employment and adult community life.

Juma Ventures' Individual Development Accounts (San Francisco)

Filed under Effective Practice, Economy / Investment & Personal Finance, Children

Goal: The IDA program is designed to help young people enter the financial mainstream, gain financial stability and build assets.

Linking Learning to Life (Chittenden County, VT)

Filed under Effective Practice, Economy / Employment, Children, Teens

Goal: The mission of LLL is to improve the educational performance and advancement, and the employment and career prospects of all Chittenden County students.

MatchBridge (San Francisco, CA)

Filed under Good Idea, Economy / Employment, Teens, Adults, Urban

Goal: The goal of MatchBridge is to diversify the future's workforce and reduce poverty by helping youth develop the skills that they need to secure employment.

Michigan Family Independence Agency (Kent County, MI)

Filed under Effective Practice, Economy / Employment

Goal: The goal of this program is to move employable TANF recipients into the workforce and to provide job retention support.

Montgomery Youth Work's Partnership for All Youth (Wheaton, MD)

Filed under Effective Practice, Economy / Employment, Children

Goal: MYW's mission is to provide all youth with meaningful training and job opportunities aimed at facilitating a successful transition from school to work and to contribute to workforce development in Montgomery County.

The purpose of the Montgomery Partnership for All Youth is to expand the skills of workforce development professionals on how to assist youth with disabilities in taking advantage of youth workforce initiatives.

An Effective Practice meets the following HCI criteria:

  1. The program description includes at a minimum: the sponsoring organization, program goals, program implementation steps, and outcomes that have demonstrated program success and/or promise in achieving the program goal in one or more localities.
  2. The results from an evaluation of the program include quantitative measures of improvement in outcome of interest (i.e. increase in voter registration, not just delivery of voter registration drive) and/ or the outcome measure is increased or improved compared to the baseline measurement or the control group but the difference is not statistically significant.

A Good Idea meets the following HCI criteria:

  1. The program description includes: the sponsoring organization, program goals, program funding source, program implementation steps and outcomes.
  2. The program evaluation is limited to descriptive measure(s) of success/accomplishment (i.e., program participation rates, number of services/education sessions/radio messages provided). Note: oftentimes, the program has been newly implemented and a program evaluation has not yet been conducted. Programs that have not yet been evaluated, but which show promise in improving health or quality of life, are classified as Good Ideas until an evaluation is conducted.

An Evidence-Based Practice meets the following HCI criteria:

  1. The program description includes at a minimum: the sponsoring organization, program goals, program implementation steps, and outcomes that have demonstrated program success in achieving the program goal in one or more localities.
  2. The results from an evaluation of the program include quantitative measures showing improvement in the outcome(s) of interest after the implementation of the program (i.e. increase in smoking cessation, not just the delivery of a smoking cessation program). The outcome measure(s) is/are compared at relevant time periods before and after the intervention or program implementation. Alternatively, the evaluation study compares the outcome(s) between an intervention group and an appropriate control group.
  3. The study is of peer-review quality and presents numbers in a scientific manner; measurements of precision and reliability are included (e.g. confidence intervals, standard errors), results from statistical tests show a significant difference or change in the outcome measure(s), and relevant point estimates and p-values are presented. Note: if the results from an evaluation of a program are presented in a scientific manner and the outcome measure is improved compared to the baseline measurement or the control group but the difference is not statistically significant, the practice is classified as effective and not evidence-based.